Every project on our map shows an estimated range of permanent operational jobs. Here's how we calculate it and where the numbers come from.
0.3 – 0.5 permanent operations jobs per MW of capacity
A 100 MW facility → approximately 30–50 permanent jobs
Low end (0.3 per MW): Industry staffing benchmarks show that highly automated hyperscale facilities (100+ MW) operate with as few as 20–30 permanent staff per 100 MW. Source: Broadstaff Global →
High end (0.5 per MW): Google's 500 MW Kansas City campus employs 200 permanent full-time workers (0.4 jobs/MW). Source: McKinsey →
Each permanent data center job requires approximately $54 million in capital investment, making data centers 168× more capital-intensive per job than traditional industries. Source: Food & Water Watch →
A 2025 investigation by Rest of World found that actual permit filings across 17 data center projects showed a combined total of just 1,547 permanent operations employees — an average of ~91 jobs per site. Source: Rest of World →
As of 2024, approximately 23,000 people held permanent data center jobs in the United States — across an industry with over 5,000 MW of capacity. Source: Food & Water Watch →
| Facility | Capacity | Permanent Jobs | Jobs/MW | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google — Kansas City | 500 MW | 200 | 0.40 | McKinsey (2025) → |
| Microsoft — Wisconsin (2 DCs) | — | 800 | — | McKinsey (2025) → |
| Stargate — Wisconsin | 1,000 MW | 1,000 | 1.00 | OpenAI announcement → |
| Vantage — Reno, NV | ~50–100 MW | 73 | ~0.7–1.5 | Nevada Independent (2025) → |
| Google — Quilicura, Chile | — | 223 (permit) | — | Rest of World (2025) → |
| Microsoft — Chile (hyperscale) | — | 75 (permit) | — | Rest of World (2025) → |
| 17 Chile projects (average) | — | ~91 per site | — | Rest of World (2025) → |
Hyperscale 100+ MW: 20–30 staff per 100 MW. Mid-size: 12 MW → 20 FTE, 40 MW → 45 FTE.
Google KC: 500 MW → 200 permanent jobs. Microsoft WI: 2 DCs → 800 permanent.
17 data center projects = 1,547 FTE total (~91 per site). Google Chile: 223 FTE. Microsoft Chile: 75 long-term.
Typical DC: ~50 FTE (half contractors). Construction: ~1,500 workers at peak, lasting 12–18 months.
Virginia: ~7,600 direct workers across ~5,050 MW. $54M capital per permanent job. ~23,000 DC jobs nationally.
157 local jobs per DC (includes indirect/multiplier). 1,688 construction workers during build phase.
Vantage Reno: 1.1M sq ft → 73 permanent jobs vs 4,000+ construction workers.
$54M per permanent job = 168× more capital-intensive than traditional industry.
Disclaimer: These are estimates based on publicly available industry data and should not be treated as exact figures. Actual employment varies significantly by facility type, automation level, operator, and whether the facility is colocation, enterprise, or hyperscale. We update this methodology as new data becomes available. If you have access to facility-level employment data, contact us.